Doing Business in India — Becoming Easier Now

Ramneet Goswami

13th November 2017

Today, doing Business in India has become much easier. As per the World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index, 2017, India ranked 100 out of 190 countries for the first time in the history. India improved 30 ranks from last year’s ranking. It is the fifth best jump in rankings for India after Brunei, Thailand, Malawi and Kosovo during the period from June 2, 2016 to June 1, 2017.

The World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business Index refers to the regulatory environment in a country to set up and operate a business. Every year, the World Bank compares the business environment in 190 countries in this index. The evaluation for the ease of doing business ranking is very tough. The ranking does not reflect the reform measures unless the outcome is visible on the ground. Year after year, persistent efforts have to make after identifying areas of improvement. This needs a lot of government commitment not only at national level but also at local level at every layer of government.

From the past many years, India is ranked at low in World Bank’s Ease of Doing Business index as shown in Table 1. Even in 2015 and 2016, India remained at the same rank. In 2017, China’s ranking remained unchanged for a second year at 78 whereas India improved its all-time ranking to 100th.

Table 1: Comparison of Ranking of BRICS Countries in Ease of Doing Business Index